Chapter 9: A Stranger at the Table

Kaiser blinked at his reflection in the polished silver mirror.

Candlelight flickered behind him, but he barely noticed. The face staring back didn’t look like someone who had survived anything.

Pale skin.

Ribs pressing against thin flesh.

Eyes sunken like two dark wells.

His fingers trembled slightly when he lifted his hand.

“…What hell is this?” he muttered under his breath.

Kai hovered behind him with his arms crossed, studying the reflection like it was a puzzle he didn’t like.

“I don’t know yet,” Kai said. “Hell, I’m not even sure what this ‘mana’ thing is supposed to be. But your body… it looks like it starved itself half to death.”

Kaiser slowly clenched his hand into a fist.

“Why… do I look like this?”

“Calm down,” Kai said sharply. “One problem at a time. First you woke up. That’s already a miracle.”

Kaiser exhaled slowly.

Then his stomach growled.

Loud.

Both of them froze.

Kai raised an eyebrow.

“…Well,” he muttered. “That answers the next problem.”

Knock. Knock.

A deep voice came from outside the door.

“Sounds like you’re alive after all. Come on. Let’s eat first. Questions later.”

The door creaked open.

Ronan stepped inside.

He filled the doorway without trying. Broad shoulders, calm eyes, and the quiet confidence of someone who had seen far worse things than a starving boy.

Kaiser forced his expression blank, hiding the flicker of recognition in his eyes.

The dining hall was warm.

Lanterns hung from the wooden beams above, bathing the room in soft amber light. A long table stretched across the center of the hall, covered with roasted meat, fresh bread, steaming soup, and vegetables Kaiser couldn’t even name.

The smell alone made his stomach twist violently.

Food.

Real food.

He forced himself to walk slowly.

Calm.

Controlled.

A bowl of soup slid in front of him.

For half a second he stared at it.

Then something inside him broke.

He lunged.

Bread disappeared first.

Then meat.

Then soup.

Another plate appeared.

Gone.

He barely tasted anything. His body simply devoured whatever landed in front of him.

Silence slowly spread across the table.

A warm voice broke it.

“Oh my,” the woman at the end of the table said with a gentle laugh. “The poor boy must’ve been starving.”

She leaned forward slightly, smiling at him like a mother watching a child eat.

“Eat as much as you like, dear. Nothing makes me happier than seeing someone enjoy my cooking.”

Across from Kaiser, a man dressed completely in black leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. His sharp eyes followed every bite Kaiser took.

He opened his mouth to speak—

THUMP.

A boot slammed into his shin under the table.

The tall girl beside him, a bow leaning against her chair, glared without mercy.

He immediately closed his mouth again.

Ronan chuckled quietly, stroking his beard.

“Well,” he said, leaning back. “Now that he’s eaten half the kitchen… we should probably call him something.”

The man in black rubbed his shin.

“I vote for King of Gluttony,” he muttered. “Kid eats like one.”

A quiet girl with pale blue hair spoke from the other side of the table.

“Flameborn?”

Her voice was soft, almost careful.

“Too dramatic,” said a golden-haired man lounging lazily in his chair. “Ash might work better.”

“Ew,” the bow girl groaned. “That sounds like something dead.”

Then a small voice cut through the debate.

“MAX!”

Everyone turned.

The smallest girl at the table was practically standing on her chair, clutching a stuffed doll tightly in her arms.

Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

She pointed straight at him.

“It’s simple!” she declared proudly. “And he looks like a Max!”

Kaiser blinked.

Did that girl just give me a name?

For a moment he hesitated.

The name he once carried belonged to another life.

Another world.

One that might not even exist anymore.

“…Max is fine,” he said quietly.

The girl beamed like she had just won a great victory.

Ronan lifted his mug with a grin.

“Then welcome, Max.”

The entire table suddenly erupted.

“WELCOME TO BLAZEWING GUILD!”

Max blinked.

Blazewing Guild?

What on earth was that?

The excitement slowly settled as everyone returned to eating.

Max leaned back slightly, watching the people around him.

Not obviously.

Carefully.

The quiet blue-haired girl who had suggested “Flameborn” sat calmly with both hands around her cup. A faint mist curled above the drink even though the room was warm.

Strange.

Next to her sat a huge man built like a fortress wall. A massive slab of metal leaned against his chair.

A shield, maybe?

Across the table, the man dressed in black barely moved, but his eyes constantly scanned the room.

The golden-haired man lounged comfortably, though the sword resting beside him looked well used.

The archer girl who kicked the man earlier looked like she found the entire situation amusing.

At the far end of the table sat the woman who had spoken kindly earlier, placing more food down whenever someone’s plate emptied.

And beside her—

The small girl who named him swung her legs happily under the chair.

“Vivian!” she announced proudly when she noticed him looking.

“And I named you!”

The warm woman laughed softly.

“Selene,” she said kindly. “And welcome to our table.”

The archer girl grinned.

“Aeris.”

The quiet blue-haired girl nodded slightly.

“Mira.”

The huge man simply gave a respectful nod.

“Thorne.”

The golden-haired swordsman gave a lazy salute.

“Valleric.”

The man in black sighed.

“…Kael.”

Max looked around the table again.

Warm light.

Laughter.

Strangers who had fed him without hesitation.

None of it made sense.

He cleared his throat.

“First of all… thank you for your kindness. I truly mean it.”

Everyone smiled.

He hesitated for a moment.

“…But first of all…”

He looked around the hall again.

“…where am I?”

Silence.